Lady Eagles Split at Dayspring Triangular

LAKE ZURICH, IL – A slow start caused the Lady Eagles to falter in their first match of the day against Grace Bible College (Wyoming, MI); but Emmaus recovered nicely to head home with a win against hosts Dayspring Bible College.  The Lady Eagles stand at 7-4 on the season.

The Lady Tigers from Grace moved the ball around well and although it seemed like an even match up the Lady Eagles had trouble generating momentum.  "We came out playing flat and were unable to get things running the way we needed to," commented Coach Pitman.  "We all felt that we did not leave our best effort on the court and were determined to remedy that in the next match."

Change did not come quickly however, as a determined Dayspring squad pushed Emmaus point for point in the first set and drove home a 24-26 victory in front of their enthusiastic hometown crowd.  "We were our own worst enemy again in this set and made too many unforced errors," said Coach Pitman.  "Coach Ruter said she was going to start tracking these errors for the rest of the match as a way to motivate us to play the clean and consistent volleyball that we are striving for."

Coach Ruter's strategy seemed to spark Emmaus, as they completed set two with only 2 unforced errors and a score of 25-6.  The Lady Eagles continued to roll in sets three (25-16) and four (25-13) to close out the match.  "Coach Ruter and I were very encouraged by how we turned things around today," said Coach Pitman.  "We struggled at times in all aspects of the game, but we did not give up and we are striving to be the best we can be as a unified team."

Alli Howard once again took charge on the offense with 16 kills for the day.  Hannah Snow, Elizabeth Brame, and Savannah Petersen each added 11.  Hannah Bell had 51 assists and a whopping 17 aces.  Rachel West, Vivienne Yates, and Lauren Walvatne had 18, 15, and 3 digs respectively.  Jenny Benson had 1 solo and 3 assisted blocks.

Emmaus is back in action on Tuesday night (10/4) as they host Faith Baptist Bible College in an MCCC matchup.  Match time is 6:00 pm in the Pollard Fieldhouse.